Untame

I was a bit wary buying it.  I bounced some steel on it before I picked it up, and it seemed to ring clear, but I'm just a novice.  I don't think it is cast iron.

The french use a tool like this for forming sheet metal.  I don't know much else about them or how they were used.

 

Thanks, Timothy.  The guy I bought it from (for $60) said that it had been used to shape sheet metal at a freezer fabricator.  I can see many good uses for it forging.  I need to rig up a stand that lets me rotate it and lock it into place for each of the profiles.

This anvil is 24" long and 117 pounds.  It has a 1" hardee hole right through the middle, and four "sides" each with a different radius profile.  Anyone ever seen anything like this?

So... nobody has any information on the "log anvil"?

I went to look at a Peter Wright 105 pound (0 3 21) anvil today, and it followed me home.  As far as I can tell the heel on the side has been welded on as has a 1/4 surface plate (the step looks high enough to appear that it was welded to the original surface).  The "new" surface has a hardee hole, but the pritchel hole wasn't cut in.  I can get an exact thickness from the hardee hole, so I'm thinking that I might cut off the added surface (as well as the heel on the side).  The price was too good to pass up, but I might not end up keeping it.

 

The SECOND anvil was a moment of serendipity.  The guy that sold me the Pete told me about a local tool surplus shop, so I stopped there on the way home (and spent 2 hours).  I stumbled over this very interesting "log" anvil.  The shop owner said it was used in a local freezer fabrication shop.  It is 24" long, 117 pounds, has a 1" hardee right through the middle, and has 4 different radiuses on each of the 4 "sides".  Anyone ever seen anything like this?  There are no stamps on it.  BTW... I didn't give $65 for it... I talked him down to $60.

Looks great, very nice work.  Was that firepot part of it or something you made? 

 

The firepot is original.

 

Looks good

For some reason the third pic makes it look like it is one of those super detailed scaled miniatures.

But that could jest be me.

 

I shot that at f/1.8 because of the low light in the basement, so it has a very shallow depth of focus.

Just about finished!  A few touches left for the blower, clay line the pan, and make a trap door for the clinkers.  It's going to be a bear to carry it out of the basement.

 

 

Well, those nippers look like they'll do wonders if you reshape them a bit.  I'd definitely narrow the reins on that upper pair right at the rivet junction.  They're mighty wide and narrowing them down will give you a bit more handle to work with.  Same could be said for the lower pair, but just not too much.  Shaping the jaws can go any of a thousand directions depending on what you're working with.

 

The cast iron forge pan would not be hurt by claying.  Cheap, unscented kitty litter is 100% bentonite clay (says so right on the bag) and you can mix that with a bit of water to line the pan.  Portland cement mixed w/ sand and wood ash works as well.  I had a forge almost exactly like that and never lined it, but I wish I had of now because it would have made working in it a lot easier.  

 

The idea is to lay the clay in at least an inch thick so that the heat is more evenly distributed through the cast iron.  This will prevent cracking due to differential heating in the metal, and it also gives you the chance to form a bowl around the air grate to focus the coals and raise the sweet spot of the fire a bit.  

 

You're doing a bangup job and I can't wait to see it finished.

 

Thanks, Vaughn!  There is a cast iron ring to install that I think is the "bowl" you are talking about.  It stands about 1.5" tall.

 

I'll do the kitty litter route and go about 1" deep.  Before I do this I'd like to figure out what should be done with the holes.  Right now my only plan is to fill them.

Here are the tools I'm turning into tongs.  The shorter one actually looks like some sort of puller (rather than a trimmer/clipper).  The handles are a little on the short side, but it should work.

Some questions:

 

There are a couple stampings that I'm wondering if they will help me to identify this specific forge.  The weighted handle for the clinker breaker is stamped "10".  The (twier?) is stamped 63 in large numbers, then 63 in small numbers above that as well as on the other side.

 

Also, what are all the holes for in the bottom of the forge?  I know one pair of them holds down the ring around the fire pot.  There are three in a triangle back on the blower side, and then two that are symmetrical in front of the fire pot.  All are counter-sunk underneath for a machine screw.  Nothing was attached to them when I took it apart, but there were screws/nuts in each of these holes (that had rotted nearly in half).

 

Finally, does this forge need to be clayed, and if so, how deep and what kind of clay?  I've heard say that I can mix cat litter with water to make the clay.

 

The machinist just finished boring the gear housing and fabricating a brass bushing.  Next week I'll reassemble the blower.  The forge, (twier?), and other parts have been blasted and painted with 2000 degree paint.  Tomorrow I am going to make new legs with casters.

 

I picked up a couple hoof nippers at an antique store for $5/$8.  My first project will be to turn them into tongs.  I still don't have an anvil.  I've got a lead on a piece of track for $20.  I might have to start there.  I found a 105 pound Peter Wright locally for $250, but I can't afford it.

 

Hopefully I'll be firing up in a couple weeks!

I got the blower halves painted.  I used high-temp engine paint.  From what I could tell after degreasing the castings the original color was red with gold lettering.  I'm going to restore it with these colors.

 

This afternoon I'm taking the gear housing to a machine shop to have a bushing fabricated for the input shaft.

I think it might have been from the crank shaft.  I have some sintered bronze stock and a local shop that only charges $10/hour (students).  I should be able to get something made for under $20.

 

It was definitely from the crankshaft.  It slipped out tightly, but now it rattles around in a rather large hole.  The casting where the babbit was is quite rough, so I might have to have it honed to prep for a bushing.

Serial number 70888 -- I wonder if it is possible to determine the date of manufacture from this number.

 

Initials M.V. etched on the side of the gear housing by the serial number.

You are probably correct in that you have melted the babbitt out of bearing .... IT may be possible to have bronze bushing machined/fitted to shaft and housing to recover use of blower, a expensive lesson, but repairable.... Fix it and move on....

Dale

I think it might have been from the crank shaft. I have some sintered bronze stock and a local shop that only charges $10/hour (students). I should be able to get something made for under $20.


Here are a few more pictures.



I'm going to replace the legs and add casters to make it more mobile. Any recommendations on the forge height?

I removed the fire pot and there appears to be a cast ring under it that retains the clinker breaker. I have scraped as much rust as possible between the surfaces and knocked on it, but I'm not sure how to get it out. It almost looks like it is set up for some sort of spanner to turn and "unlock" it (from the tab cast into the forge on the right?). Suggestions?

Thanks!

Howdy. B)

First of all I'd like to thank woodsmith for introducing me to blacksmithing and this site.

I picked up my first forge, and I'm just starting on restoring it. It was on my wife's family's farm, and it originally belonged to her great-uncle who passed away last year at the age of 92. I've tried to scour the place for other smithing tools, but I've come up with nothing. I understand that years ago (when he moved away from the farm) his anvil was sold at auction, so I'm assuming the other smithing tools were sold then as well -- but I'll keep poking around.

The blower is a Canedy Otto Royal Western Chief. I'm planning on tearing it down today to start my rebuild.

Is there anything in particular I should be mindful of while restoring this blower? Any tips are appreciated!

If I can get the forge rebuilt this week maybe I can get my sword made next week... j/k. :D


I was seriously impressed with the quality of the blower as I disassembled it. I wish you could still buy (or afford to buy) "Made in America" craftsmanship of that quality.



The disassembly was quite straight-forward. I washed all of the parts in the parts washer then used the wire wheel on the bench grinder to polish up the hardware. I also polished the varnish off the gear shafts.

Then I made a mistake. I was trying to decide how to strip the old paint off the castings and I opted for throwing them on the coals in our wood furnace. When I removed the gear housing it spilled lead (babbit?) on the floor. I had inspected the casting for pressed in bushes and didn't see any. I'm guessing that the lead might have been used as a bearing surface for the gear shafts. Anyone know for sure?

While everything is cooling off I'm going to go work on the forge. Pictures to come soon.